"BBC Announces plans to improve Broadcasting Services & Resources for the County of Dorset

At a meeting of the Dorset Broadcasting Action Group (DorBAG) and the BBC in Dorchester recently, attended by Oliver Letwin MP - Chairman, Mike Hapgood – Head of BBC South, & Jane McCloskey – Head of BBC South West, the BBC announced that it is planning several initiatives that are aimed at providing better, more focused services for the County of Dorset:

1)On television, BBC Spotlight will be holding the ‘Children in Need’ programme this year in Weymouth Sea Life Centre on Friday, 20th November. DorBAG asked the BBC if they can broadcast this programme on BBC South and BBC West simultaneously, so that all residents will be able to see it. The BBC replied that because these types of events are transmitted live, and BBC South will be holding its own event, they would be unable to transmit the Weymouth event. However they will promote it on air before the ‘Children in Need’ day & it will be available on the BBC Dorset web site..

2)The BBC announced it is to recruit three new appointments for Dorset, as the BBC Trust is now supporting more ‘Regional’ output:

a.A ‘Producer level video journalist – this will be a senior position in Dorchester

b.A local political reporter responsible to BBC South – again in Dorchester

c.BBC South West is also recruiting a shoot/edit operatorin Exeter, but who will have his/her main focus on Dorset.

At the meeting, the BBC management agreed to investigate why the excellent BBC Dorset web site (www.bbc.co.uk/dorset) is not mentioned on BBC Spotlight, BBC South or on the ‘Big Breakfast Brunch’ (the latter, on a specific Dorset only radio programme every Saturday morning [103.8FM]. The latter refers to BBC Radio Solent & not the BBC Dorset web site!).

3)The Dorset Broadcasting Action Group very strongly supports the BBC Management which is working on these new initiatives, and welcomes their present proposals. However, it continues to emphasise with senior management within the BBC, and the BBC Trust itself, that while this is an excellent start, we must all continue to work to ensure that Dorset receives a Countywide service. To this end DorBAG would like to see the following:

a.Dorset folded into one BBC Region (presently split three ways) such that the county is the responsibility of just one Senior Region BBC Manager, with full budgets to properly serve the County.

b.To provide Dorset local news and events coverage on Television, simultaneously transmitted to every household in the County, rather than being split between three separate programmes from Plymouth, Southampton and Bristol, as is the present case.

c.The re-introduction of a full BBC Radio Dorset service, as an addition to BBC Radio Solent, which presently only reaches the east of the county, and is not dedicated to Dorset – except, of course, on Saturday mornings.